For optimum performance in a gold r

For optimum performance in a gold recovery circuit, the activated
carbon must possess important properties such as a high rate
of adsorption, superior gold loading capacity, mechanically strong
and have a high resistance to abrasion (Ladeira et al., 1993). The
raw materials have an inherent structure, which also contributed
to the overall adsorption activity of the activated carbon produced.
These properties are controlled by the nature of the activating
agent and the conditions of the activation process. Despite the
large Au equilibrium adsorption capacity of activated carbon,
which is dependent upon the surface area per unit mass and the
surface structure of the carbon, the Au extraction rates are slow
in both CIP and CIL processing plants because they are dependent
on adsorption kinetics rather than equilibrium loading. Furthermore,
increasing the Au loading on the activated carbon in a series
of tanks during a continuous process operation progressively slows
the rate of adsorption and results in an increase of soluble Au
losses to the tailings. This problem can be solved by increasing
the amount of activated carbon in each tank or by increasing the
number of tanks used in the loading circuit (Fleming et al.,
2011).